History Podcast and Blog

Its in the title but once again this post will contain spoilers for those of you reading Blood of Tyrants and have not already read through to chapter 3. I’m loving this book already. I can tell that it is going to be difficult to hold my self to the schedule from good reads. Lots of cool stuff in here! Spoilers below!

Washington on the Dollar Bill

Introduction

I never thought to George Washington as a red-brown haired six foot 21 year old, that made mistakes, even good looking: “exuded such masculine power as frightens young women”. As Nathaniel Hawthorne is quoted joking Washington was born “…with his hair on, and his hair powdered…” I always saw Washington as an infallible character in American History after wall he was unanimously voted into office. I’m not the only one feeling this way either as Beirne points out, “History books often portray Washington as semi-omniscient demigod who was so unlike us that he never struggled to find his way.”

And yet, again in the introduction, we see that Washington was “desperate to pacify his shoeless–and shirtless–men, Washington confiscated supplies along the way.” He stole! But is that so bad in a time of war? He has to do what he needs to do to keep his army on their feet right? And we already know the man was a slave-owner, something that at the time was quasi-normal, but by todays standards is abhorrent.

Chapter 1 – The Not-So-United States

What I learned in this chapter: The revolution left America bankrupt. The revolution also sparked uprisings in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Haiti, and Latin America. Many citizens felt greater allegiance to their own region than to the wider nation. “New Jersey is out country!”

Questions: This often happens to me with well written non-fiction. I would love to know more about what uprisings these were that happened in Ireland and the other places. What kept Washington from being one of the poor?

Controversy: “He commanded hundreds of slaves…” Answering my own question from above. I bet the slaves kept Washington out of the poor house. He had hundreds to help him manage his property. But I guess he felt bad about it?

“…’there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted of the abolition’ of slavery.”

Although, he declined to free the slaves until his death where “…he would arrange for their emancipation…”.

Washington was already the king to the people: “Washington’s voluntary surrender of power only further elevated his demigod status among the people”. And “…any attack against the great man was considered unpatriotic.”

Except the portraitist that had to paint Washington Gilbert Stuart. Stuart painted a strange likeness of Washington. Described in detail on page 19. He said of Washington that he “…was possessed of ‘great self-command [that] always made his appear a man of a different cast in the eyes of the world.”

It was this rather gruff representation that all modern Americans are familiar with because “it was this stiff, almost annoyed-looking representation of the dynamic man that would grace the dollar bill and shape countless people’s perception of him.” (My emphasis.) Everyone feel free to take out a buck and throughly examine the picture now.

Chapter 2 – Not as Happy in Peace as They Had Been Glorious in War

In our finances our fledgling company was very similar to Britain. Like Britain we were poor from war. We were poor from the revolution, Britain was poor from the 7 years war, which we learned was all Washington’s fault, “Washington’s scandalous “Jumonville Affair” has sparked the global Seven Years’ War.” This lead Britain to heavily tax the new colonies which lead to the revolution in the first place. So I guess you could say that the revolution was all Washington’s fault?

America was in huge debt. 45 million in federal debt and $24 million in additional state debt. We owed mostly to the French.

Washington felt “Public Debt is a Public curse.” so what to do about it? The states would not help.

I never knew the national currency was called the Continental. Always thought it was a tire brand. This is were we get the saying “not worth a Continental”, because the value of the money was so horrible. The currency was such a “laughingstock that barber-shops were papered, in jest, with the bills; and sailors…had suits of clothes made of it.”

Washington’s popularity: An aside to this chapter most about America’s debt is the cool story of the many, many visitors that Washington received at his home. “In search of some respite, he resorted to posting inadequate signage to his estate, causing many prospective visitors to get lost on the snaking paths through the dark woods that hid Mount Vernon.”

Chapter 3 – The Shadow Government

This is the Daniel Shays chapter. This is where we the readers will see the country go a bit nuts! First every one was in debt. The soldiers from the revolution still had not received any pay for the their duty, pay which they had been promised. We know from the previous chapter that this is because the government simply didn’t have any money to give them. To make matters worse “…any debt above a mere five dollars was cause for imprisonment.” Kind strict huh? Can’t imagine that kind of law would work now.

Shays plight registered with his fellow man. Like everyone else he was a poor soldier never paid by the government and nation that he had helped free. He lost some of his farm to creditors and had watched his hard working neighbors hauled off to jail for owing five bucks. The rally cry of the Shays’ rebellion was

“True Liberty and Justice may require resistance to law”.

Pretty powerful stuff. His message got across and many joined his cause. The United States might look a lot different if James Bowdoin had not stepped forward. Many disagreed with his tactics but he was able to put down the rebellion, with some of his own financing. Bowdoin’s forces were so well equipped that the farmers , with inferior weapons were soon defeated, “men were scattered before the Massachusetts militia’s firestorm.”

Extra Credit: I had to look this one up from chapter 3: Perfidiousness. Props for anyone who knew what that meant without a google search.

Email Signup

Subscribe to our mailing list

What’s This?

Historyonair.com is the online home of the podcast History Podcast. You can find history related articles, video and podcast here. You can contact the author of this blog and its content at historypodcast@gmail.com. Help us make the website better by taking this super quick survey.